Main Quest Story
The main quest is a continuing story that is not broken up to segments in the game, but can, for the most part, be broken up by location. This continuing quest is written in the player's Journal. The Story Althror's Fief Treebridge I have arrived in the town of Treebridge. * A flurry of villagers race past you, heading to the north. * You grab one by the arm and ask him what the rush is. * 'A fight! There's a fight in the market place!', he pants, slightly out of breath. 'Come on! The market place is just to the north of here!' * And with that, he heads off. Villagers are rushing to a commotion in the market square, which is just west from the bridge in the centre of town, and then north a few paces. Perhaps I should follow them and investigate. * As you head into the market, you push through the crowd to find the cause of the commotion. A shuffling figure, wearing worn, dirty and ragged clothes, staggers about the market place, moaning incomprehensibly. A drunkard perhaps? * Whoever he is, he is causing a great deal of damage that these simple villagers are unable to cope with. Several villagers are nursing bloody noses and deep scratches where they have evidently tried, and failed to subdue him. As he staggers about, he kicks over barrels, knocks over stacked crates of market produce and upturns stalls. A villager standing next to you wrings his hat disconsolantly. 'Someone needs to do something. He needs to be stopped before he wrecks our market!' he wails. You look around - the town guard have yet to arrive. Someone indeed should do something. * The man shuffles about at a laborious pace. He is hunched over slightly un-naturally, and drags one foot behind him. His clothes are stained in soil and his shirt hangs in tatters about him. An unpleasant odour, a sort of rotten smell, hangs about him. Who is this person and what ails him so? Whoever he is, his disposition is far from friendly. He swings punches at anyone who gets too close, and is knocking over market stalls and crates of produce with malicious intent as he passes them. Someone should intervene. * The ragged figure just wouldn't yield, and before you know it, you sic blow has felled it. For a moment, you wonder if this will get you into trouble with the town guard, but your concerns are allayed as you become aware of the cheers of the townsfolk about you, clearly thrilled that you have saved their market from this destructive intruder. * Looking closer at the dead body at your feet, something doesn't seem right. The corpses skin is grey and pulled tight, and his eyes are sunk in hollows. A putrid stench hangs about him. It's almost like this poor soul was killed weeks ago, rather than just now. But that, of course, is impossible! You become aware of a villager standing next to you. 'Strange,' he mutters, 'he looks like Eriks brother, the gods rest his soul.' Noticing your quizzical expression, he adds apologetically, Erik'' is the miller, he lives in the town mill to the 'south of here. This looks like Orgin, his brother. He got drunk one night and fell into the river, the poor soul drowned. But that was weeks ago. Still, the resemblence is uncanny.' * And with that, the village shakes his head and wanders off. You look down at the figure. His clothes are dirty and torn, but they do look rather like a millers apron and overalls. Perhaps you should head to the path to the south, and have a work sic with Erik... I have defeated a shuffling figure who was causing havoc in the market place. It has been suggested to me that the figure looks like the dead brother of Erik, the miller. If I head '''south from the market place, I should find a road that will take me to the mill where I can talk to him further about this.' * ''Erik is tall, with well-muscled arms developed by years in his hard-working trade as a miller. He wears a white apron, and a perpetual cloud of floury dust seems to hang about him. His weathered face if friendly, yet there is a quiet sadness about him. * You have been given a tray of bread rolls. * You approach Erik, and begin to tell him about your encounter at the market place. At first he seems suspicious of your description, insisting that his brother has been dead for weeks and that it could not possibly have been him. 'I buried him myself, traveller,' he insists, 'It could not possibly be him. If this is some game you're playing, then I tell you now it is in very bad taste.' * But you persist, describing the features of the person you encountered (trying your best not to spell out that it was you that slayed the shambling beast). You hand over the apron that the figure was wearing, which looks familiar to him. Eventually, he sighs and nods. 'It does sound like him, and this does look like his apron,' he admits, 'Very well, I shall go see for myself. I must know what has happened to my dear brother. In the meantime, perhaps you could do a favour for me. This batch of loaves needs to be delivered to the town tavern kitchens. You'll find the tavern on the road running east from the main bridge, just a few paces along and sitting on the north side of the road. Deliver them to Bethanda, the tavern owner, and she'll pay you for your troubles.' * And with that, Erik sets off. Having spoken to Erik, he's headed off to investigate. In the meantime, he's given me some bread to take to Bethanda. In the Bawdy Bard Tavern, which lies just '''north '''of the main road through Treebridge town, to the '''east '''of the bridge. It seems a menial task, but I have been promised a small reward for doing it for him, so it may be worth my while. * Bethanda hurries over to you and snatches away the tray of bread. 'Ah, excellent!' she enthuses, 'I knew Erik would get these to me. I was almost out of bread, and the patrons would not be happy if I didn't have anything to mop up their stews and ale with. Here's some coin for your trouble. 'Now,' she continues, eyeing you up and down, 'You look like a stalwart sort. Perhaps you can help me with something. There's an intruder down in my cellars. Probably a drunkard. I can't tell because the've sic knocked over the lantern down there and put it out, so its sic all dark. But I can hear them down there, shuffling and moaning. Be a good fellow and head down there, would you, and get rid of them? Use any force necessary. The guards won't mind, my serving girls wont go down there until whoever it is has been got rid of, and if the girls won't go down there, the guards won't get their ale!' Bethanda has asked me to take care of an intruder in the tavern cellar, probably a drunkard. * As you deal the death blow to the figure in the dark, the door to the cellar opens, and Bethanda calls down. 'Dealt with my problem, have you? Well come up to the kitchens, and let's feed you up, that'll make you feel better and take your mind off those wounds.' * As you head up to the kitchens, you cast an eye down in the cellar, lit up by the light falling through the open door. The figure you have slain looks like the one you took care of back in the market - you could swear that poor soul has been dead weeks! The skin is tight and grey, and his clothes hang about him in rags. You shake your head in confusion. * Before you know it, you are sat in the kitchens, and being fed a hearty meal. You feel much better for it. Bethanda leans over to you and says, 'When you're ready, have a word with Gunter, the head of the guard. He's in the common room right now. Don't worry, you're not in trouble, but he does want a word about that poor soul you took care of down in the cellar. The intruder in the cellar wouldn't give in, and I had no choice but to kill them, in self-defence. Bethanda tells me that Gunter, the head of the town guard, wants to speak to me about it. He's in the main bar of the tavern. * Gunter is an old man, with silver-grey hair and beard. His grizzled face tells tales of a lifetime of service in the town guard, and his stance and demeanour suggests that despite his advancing years, he still knows how to look after himself, and perhaps it would be wise to stay on the right side of him. 'So, you're the newcomer who took care of our walking dead?' Gunter greets you with a firm handshake. Noticing your quizzical state, he shrugs, 'Yes, the 'walking dead'. That's what the townfolk are calling them. Well, you must have noticed! Those people you took care of look like they've been dead for weeks. Months, even! I tell you now, newcomer, I've kept the peace in this town for forty years now, and I've never seen a thing like it. 'Well, I have to take measures. The townfolk are worried. My guards are struggling to keep the peace. The last thing we need are more strange faces here. So I've ordered the town gates to be closed. No-one gets in or out of town from either the east or west '''gate until we have cleared the town of these dead walkers. Oh, yes, there are more of them! My guards in the gatehouses know where they are. Thing is, the guard is so busy keeping the townfolk calm, we haven't time to deal with the dead walkers. 'So perhaps this is where you come in. Dispose of the rest of these dead walkers for my guard, and perhaps we can get those gates back open, and things back to normal. Well, lets face it, you don't face much choice do you? You're stuck in this town too until it's all sorted. You may even earn a bit of a name for yourself round here!' ''Gunter'' tells me that the fights I've gotten into are not isolated incidents, and the likeness of my opponents to dead men may be more than my imagination. There are reports of dead men wandering the streets all over town. He's barred the town gates until peace has been restored, and has asked me to help out the overrun town guards by asking the gatehouse guards where these dead men are, and taking care of them.' * [[Treebridge|'Treebridge']] town guard #1 'We've heard reports of one of those... dead things... in the west stables, just up the road from the gatehouse,' says one guard. 'Gunter said that you might be able to help dispose of it? I can't leave my post here. * You deal the death blow to this unholy creature, and stand to catch your breath for a moment. You'll need to head back to the nearest gatehouse next, to find out if the guards have heard any more reports of these creatures rising up in town. * [[Treebridge|'Treebridge']] town guard #2 'Hey, thank you for dealing with that creature in the stables,' enthuses the guard, 'We have reports of another one, somewhere in the grounds of the manor house! Can you take care of it? Theres a pathway running '''south' off the main road, just east of the bridge, that'll take you to the manor house.' * You deal the death blow to this unholy creature, and stand to catch your breath for a moment. You'll need to head back to the nearest gatehouse next, to find out if the guards have heard any more reports of these creatures rising up in town. * [[Treebridge|'Treebridge']] town guard #3 'You seem to be dispatching these dead monsters without much trouble at all!' grins the guard. 'We've head sic of one more - in the chapel, would you believe! You probably passed the chapel on the way to the manor house, it's on the same road. Thnk you can handle one more of those things?' * You now have a scroll from Bertrand, the town cleric, and 100 extra gold coins! * Get 100 gold coins from Bertrand * You own a new map! - [[Althror's Fief|'Althror's Fief']] * You deal the death blow to this unholy creature, and stand to catch you breath for a moment. * In the distance, you head sic the unmistakable scraping noise of iron portcullises being raised - the town guard must have deemed it safe to open the town gates again, no doubt thanks to your heroic efforts. Bertrand, the cleric, clambers out from his hiding place and comes to stand beside you, and look down at the cadaver. 'I recognize him,' he says with a shaky voice, 'I buried this poor man not ten moons ago! I prayed for his soul! Whatever is going on here, it is an unholy blasphemy of the worst kind. 'I have heard tale of the dead rising before,' he continues, 'but of course I dismissed them as legends, stories that travellers tell around the campfire and nothing more. 'Zombies', they called them. Oh, there are many such tales of these creatures, of these zombies and of all manner of other 'undead' and ghostly horrors that return to the realm of the living. But I feel unequipped to talk of such things with any authority. There are others in this land who took those legends more seriously than I, and others still that practice the arcane and sorcerous arts who many know the truth of it all. 'But first, our liege and protector must be told of what has happened here in Treebridge today. The Baron Althror, who oversees this fief and all the townships within, must be made aware! He is a wise and considerate ruler, and will know what to do. If not he, then his advisor, his court magician Ikon. Someone must take word to him immediately!' Bertrand looks at you with hopeful eyes. * You sigh softly, and nod in consent. You will take word to Althror of these unholy goings-on. 'Excellent, excellent!' enthuses Bertrand, clapping you on the back. 'You must take the east gate, and follow the road to the hamlet of [[Hargham|'Hargham']]. From there, the road forks to the north and to the south-east. Take the south-easterly route, and on to [[Althror's castle|'Althror's castle']]. I'm sure our lord and protector there will give you a hero's welcome, when he hears of all you have done for us. 'Here, take this,' he continues, as he hastily writes on a sheet of parchment, and seals it with wax and a stampfrom his ring. 'It'll confirm your story, and he will see it is from me. And take this money too, a blessing from the church, and be sure to equip yourself from the market stalls and shops in [[Treebridge|'Treebridge']] before you leave - the roads are not always safe.' Bertrand, the cleric of Treebridge, believes that these walking dead are what legends refer to as "zombies", and there is an unholy origin. He's asked me to take news to Baron Althror. I must head out of Treebridge on the east road to the hamlet of Hargham, and then head south-east to Althror's castle. When I get there, I must present Althror with a scroll Bertrand has given me, outlining what has happened here. [[Althror's Castle|'Althror's castle']] * You begin to climb the stairs, up to the first floor of the castle. * You hand Bertrand's scroll over to Althror. * Althror says nothing as he reads the missive from the cleric, and then reads it again. Another pause, and he silently hands the note to his aide, the sorcerer Ikon, who glances at it and nods slowly. 'Thank you for bringing this to my attention, friend,' sighs Althror in a soft, baritone voice. 'It is as we feared. 'These... dead men... these 'zombies', this is not the first we have heard of them. Last week, Baron Angor, to the south of here, sent a messenger to us, with reports of incidents throughout the towns in his fief. At first, they thought it was drunkards or tall tales, but soon his guardsmen were overrun trying to keep order and dispose of these beasts. He sent word asking me to spare some of my men to bolster his ranks while... whatever this is... ran it's course.' Ikon continues in his soft, musical timbre. 'I suspected them from the reports... but zombies... they are things of fable alone. Stories from bygone ages, only found in ancient Tabamor and T'Munzund legends. Not even I suspected they were real - but now? Here in our fief also?' he shakes his head. 'I tell you, traveller, I have lived for eight hundred years, and I have never encountered this before.' 'We must decide on what steps to take next.' says Althror. Ikon'' and I must confer. Using our guardsmen to keep the peace is clearly not enough, as we can see from Angor's fief. Friend, please step back out to the common room and take respite there, we must speak in private. We will talk to you again soon.' And with that, Althror gestures to the door behind you, to the common room to the east', and turns to speak to Ikon in hushed tones. 'I have delivered ''Bertrand's message to Althror. Apparently, these dead men have already been reported in other fiefs in the land. Althror and Ikon are to deliberate on what action to take next. * You step out into the common room, and immediately into a hubub of noise and action. Guardsmen run to and fro, passing out weapons and scattering throughout the castle corridors. Cries of alarm and panic sounds all about. Someone yells something about protecting the baron, and you whirl around to see the doors to the Great Hall slammed shut, a heavy bar being secured in place over it, and a contingent of guards forming around it, halberds at the ready! * The guards scatter, leaving only the castle steward, Jeruld in place, yelling orders in their wake. Jeruld turns to you, his face flustered, and beckons you over to speak to him. 'Invaders!' cries Jeruld, 'Here, in the castle! Oh my word, how did this happen? They just appeared! No warning, our lookout sentries saw nothing! How is that possible?' Jeruld turns to you. 'I have issued orders to the guard... well, those of them that are left to listen to orders, most are fighting off the invaders. No, I do not know who or what they are! One guard said they looked like dead bodies walking, another said some sort of apparition! But the Baron is protected, locked in his halls... for now. The castle gates have been barricaded against more invaders from outside, and the guardsmen are fighting off those within the walls. 'Oh, the oil chambers! In my haste I forgot to issue orders for the boiling oil to be poured! It is set to be poured on the invaders that are trying to break down the main gate... without it, our men may not be able to hold the line... you! You must help us, please! Get up to the battlements and to the oil chamber! Tell the guardsmen there to pour the boiling oil - it must be done immediately!' The castle is in chaos - the walking dead creatures are here, mounting some sort of invasion! Julard, the castle steward, has tried to take control amidst the chaos and has barricaded Althror in his halls, and has directed the guardsmen to the defence of the castle, but has neglected to instruct anyone to pour the boiling oil on the invaders at the gate. He has asked me to head up to the battlements and find the oil chambers, and take charge of pouring it. * You deal the death blow to the cadaver. * Another of those walking dead like you saw in [[Treebridge|'Treebridge']]? What was it that Bertrand ''called them.... 'zombies'? No... similar, but somehow different. There was more motion in this one, almost humanlike... less stiff and shuffling. And you are sure you detected something in it's eyes... a hint of intelligence... no, not intelligence, but... recognition. These creatures are more powerful somehow, as if whatever unseen menace that lies behind them is somehow... growing in power? * The thought sends a shudder down your spine. Could there be more powerful dead things still yet to come? * You begin to climb the stairs, up to the second floor of the castle. * You deal the death blow to the cadaver. * Looking around in horror, you see the crumpled and bloodied bodies of the guardsmen all about... and you realise you are the only person left alive here! You call for aid, but no-one answers. Clearly the castle guard still are all engaged with the enemy. * You look across at the oil cauldrons, and see that they have yet to be tipped. With no guardsmen here to operate them, who is there to carry out ''Jeruld's orders and save the main gates from breach? The cadavers had already slain the guardsmen in the oil chambers before I arrived there. I have slain the cadavers and activated the hot oil cauldron myself, pouring them down to the gates below to decimate much of the attacking cadaver forces. * You race over to the cauldrons, and glace down the grille below to see the outside of the front gates beneath. A large force of cadavers has almost broken down the doors! They claw and throw themselves at it without hesitation or rest, or any sign of fatigue. You hear anguished cries of the guardsmen within, trying in vain to reinforce the gates as they splinter and buckle. * Realising there is no time to waste, and no guardsmen left up here to operate the oil cauldrons, you take matters into your own hands. You rush to the heavy iron level that holds the cauldrons in place, and hurl your weight against it with all your might. The lever creaks and groans, and gradually turns, and the cauldrons topple over! * Hot oil spews forth from them and down through the grille to the gatehouse below. The cadavers are decimated by the torrent of boiling oil - some are instantly swept away, and others boil and disentigrate where they stand. You shudder involuntarily as you see the reanimated dead continue to flail away at the gates, driven by some unseen magical force, and heedless of the hideous, torturous oil that burns their flesh from their bones. However, eventually, the last of the bodies falls, succumbing to the burning effects of the oil as it strips away flesh and muscle. * As the chaos subsides, you hear cheers from within the gatehouse. Evidently the guardsmen have realised that the oil was poured, and the main invasion force has been beaten. You slump back against the wall to catch your breath, the room spinning about you momentarily. Gathering your wits about you, you decide you should report back to Jeruld. Although... you can also hear the sounds of conflict from elsewhere within the castle. Clearly some of the cadavers are still within the castle walls. Perhaps you should also take a quick tour of the castle grounds, dispatch of any cadavers you find and see if any of the castle residents need your help... * Here is the Side Quest - Call for Reinforcements! * You begin to descend the stairs, back down to the first floor of the castle. 'You did it!' enthuses Jeruld, clasping your shoulders with both his hands, and dropping his pile of papers in excitement. 'The oil was poured and the invading force was defeated! We can raise the gates again and send the runners out for our reserve guards!' * Sure enough, you hear the sounds of portcullis beig sic raised, gates pulled back and cheers from down below. 'There may still be some of those unholy beings in the castle - some made it in before we could seal the gates. If you care to help us further, friend, perhaps you could run round the castle and check in on the people, if you haven't done so already? The guardsmen are still somewhat in disarray, and we must clear the castle walls of all those cadavers, and ensure the people are all safe by speaking to them where necessary. 'When you are ready, I'm sure the Baron Althror would like to see you again. Guards! Unseal the doors to the Great Hall. The immediate threat has passed now.' * Guards and servants scurry forward to unbolt and heave open the doors to the west, granting you access to the Great Hall again. * As you head back into the Great Hall, you immediately notice that Althror is missing. Ikon stands in the centre of the hall, looking ashen and shaken, with a faint tang of sulphur hanging in the air about him. He is breathing heavily. As he notices you, he beckons you over and speaks through gasping breaths. 'It was an apparition! A spectre!' he gasps, 'It materialised out of thin air! The spirit of a dead man, and it appeared right before us! 'I was able to drive it back, but it took all of my magical reserves. It was coming for Althror himself! I bade the Baron to retreat to my chambers, there are enchantments there that will protect him, but not for long. The spectre has chased him there... my chambers are to the south of here. 'My magics are spent temporarily, but inside my chambers, the enchantments there should force the spectre to be susceptable to physical attacks. You must hurry! Head to my chambers and save the Baron! Here, take these healing potions, you may need them...' * Ikon give you two healing potions. I have returned to the Great Hall to find that Baron Althror has taken refuge in Ikon's private chambers, where a spectre is attacking him. Ikon has already done battle with the ethereal creature and is temporarily drained of his magical powers. He has asked me to do battle with the spectre and save the Baron. 'The spectre!' cries Althror. 'It must be stopped!' * You deal the death blow to the Spectre, and with an unearthly howl, it vanishes into thin air, leaving only the same stench of sulphur that you detected in the Great Hall. Althror steps forward to clasp your hand, 'You have done me another great service, friend,' he enthuses, 'You have saved my town of [[Treebridge|'Treebridge']], you have led the defence of my castle against these... things... and now you have saved my life too. I will personally ensure that you are rewarded, and you shall forever be a friend of my court. 'But that will have to wait, for now. Let us return to the Great Hall, and confer with Ikon. This attack against my castle... events are escalating quickly and we must be ready to fight back!' * And with that, Althror heads back to the Great Hall, beckoning for you to follow him. I have defeated the spectre that was trying to slay the Baron Althror. * You own a new map! - Butran's Fief * Althror gives you 300 gold pieces! 'So, whatever evil this is, it is growing in power,' growls Althror in a low voice. 'Those walking dead men in the villages... they were nothing compared to these cadavers... these undead soldiers. And that spirit... what was it, Ikon?' 'A spectre,' murmurs Ikon, 'One of a number of types of ethereal being I have read about, but never thought could be real. Whatever is behind all this, it is clearly capable of manifesting many types of undead being we had until now dismissed as legend and folklore... and it appears to be gathering power, capable of summoning forth more potent apparitions as time goes on. 'We are ill-equippped to deal with this. We lack the knowledge of the dark magical arts that are behind these things. Even my own studies over the years, I have never studied these dark arts. Our only chance to determine the cause of this, and thus do battle with it, is to seek counsel from someone who does', concludes the sorcerer. Althror turns to his aide in surprise, 'Consort with a necromancer?' he demands. 'Be bedfellows with the enemy?' Ikon shakes his head, 'We do not even know who the enemy is, my liege. Only by speaking to those who understand these things can we hope to move forward. But... you and I are needed here. It will be harder than ever to keep the peace in the fief. Perhaps our friend here can be of assistance to us once more?' Ikon turns to you, 'There is one sorceress that I know of who dabbles in these dark arts. We were friends once. I believe she may still be persuaded to help us. Her name is Sarissa, and you can find her in a lonely tower, to the north in the land of Felgard. It is a long journey, and I cnanot guarantee your welcome will be warm when you get there.' Althror scowls. 'Felgard is a lawless land, our rule there is barely felt. Populated only by fishermen and shapherds, and the occasional brigand or robber knight who dares not set foot on Talleslundic soil anymore. You will have to equip yourself well for this journey. Here, take this gold, and ensure you equip yourself well before you head out of my fief. 'If you head out from the main gates and back along the road to Britel's Inn, look for a fork in the road heading north-east, through the Whispering Wood. When you read sic the other side of the wood, you'll be in Baron Butran's fief. He's an unwelcoming sort, unlikely to even grant you entry to his castle. But no matter, make your way to Port Chyste. From there you should be able to buy your way onto a ferry to Felgard. Take this map of Butran's fief, it will help you get the lay of the land up there. 'Be vigilant in your travels, friend,' counsels Ikon. 'Remember to speak to whoever you can, you never know what you might learn along the way. But remember, Felgard is your destination, and once there, you must locate the tower of Sarissa, and beseech her to tell us all she knows of this evil. Althror and Ikon have bade me to head north, through the Whispering Wood and into Baron Butran's fief. There, I need to find Port Chyste and secure a ride on a ferry across the waters to the shores of Felgard, where I must locate the tower of the sorceress Sarissa, who Ikon believes may be persuaded to help us learn the cause of whatever evil is behind the undead risings. Butran's fief *Butran's guardsmen have erected roadblocks preventing travel north. They have heard of the undead risings in Althror's Fief and are preventing travel further north into Butran's estates. I have been turned away. Perhaps I should return to Sandstoft and ask around, to see if there might be another way to get to Port Chyste in the north. Sandstoft *Asking around in Sandstoft, a drunken villager has tipped me off that I might be able to get passage on a barge from the town pier, and around the coastline and up the river Pervin to the village of Kellyn. From there I could backtrack east and then north, and bypass the roadblock. *The Sandstoft bargemaster will take me to Kellyn if I can return to him something he left in the grotto in Durrth Rock. He seem sic a little reluctant to describe exactly what he left there or why. I will have to swim out to sea to get to Durrth Rock. I had best prepare myself for a possibly long swim. Port Chyste *I have made it to Port Chyste. Now I need to find a ship that can take me across the channel to Felgard. Perhaps I should make some enquiries at the harbour, once I find it. *Captain Clyde, of the ship IceCarver, is willing to take me to Felgard in return for sorting out his tax papers, which are missing a signature from the tax collector. I can either chase down the tax collector, who was headed to Kellyn and then on to Woodsgate, althought that will involve some travel... or I could apply a little pressure to the harbourmaster at the south end of Chyste harbour to correct the papers himself, at the risk of earning a bad name for myself in town. *Tax collector option **I have tracked down Butran's tax collector, and got him to sign Clyde's papers. I can now return to Captain Clyde and hopefully get him to take me to Felgard in return for my help. *Harbourmaster option ** *I have returned Clyde's signed papers to him, so he can now set sail for Felgard. I can speak to him on the deck of his ship, which is moored off the north side of pier 1 in Port Chyste, when I am ready to depart. Felgard Myse * I have arrived in the town of Myse, in Felgard. * The locals in the town of Myse appear to be unwilling to talk to me. It seems that their natural distrust of strangers is worsened by problems they have with packs of direwolves roaming the land. Perhaps if I could solve their direwolf problem, I might be able to earn their trust... * It appears that the road from Myse running west has been destroyed by a landslide. I cannot see a way to proceed on this road until it is repaired. * I have met Chorrick, the old shepherd out in the scrublands. He has explained that a pack of direwolves in the Bone Wood have been attacking his herds of goat and sheep, that the townsfolk of Myse rely on for food and milk. If I can clear the Bone Wood of direwolves, perhaps I can win the trust of the people of Myse, so that they might help me with my quest to reach Sarissa. * Having disposed of the pack of direwolves, I have spoken to Chorrick again, who is grateful for my help. He can now set his flocks free, and assured me that by the time I get back to Myse, word will have spread, and the townsfolk might be more pleased to see me... * The villagers in Myse finally trust me enough to talk to me. They know nothing of Sarissa and prefer to keep it that way, but have advised me that I should travel to Pergryn to learn more. The road there is collapsed at the momen sic though, and I'll need to cross the marshlands to get there. I should speak to the town's scout, Mytok, to help me find my way. * Mytok has agreed to get me to Pergryn, across the marshlands, as the road there is cut off at the moment. He thinks that folk in Pergryn might be able to help me journey to Sarissa's tower. But Mytok is a superstitious man, and believes the marshes to be haunted. He has told me to hea sic to the town of Jeyste to the east first, making the crossing to it at low tide. There, I can get a cursed candle from the wise woman, to return to Mytok, so that he will brave the marshes. * I have spoken to Jyne. She knows Mytok and is willing to help him ward off the spirits that walk this land. She has given me a cursed candle that Mytok can use to safely traverse the marshlands. I must now return to Mytok and get him to guide me to Pergryn. * I have delivered the cursed candle to Mytok, who will now lead me across the marshes. Pergryn * Broglik has confirmed to me that the little-used path north out of town leads up to the cliffs to the remains of a now-abandoned village. Sarissa's tower is near to there. He has warned me though that the path up the cliff is treacherous, and that a traveller would be best advised to be equipped with rope, hammer, and crampons. Sarissa's tower * Sarissa has admitted to me that she knows little of the cause of the evil, but she is as keen to uncover it as I am. To do this, she needs a magical scrying glass from the underworld beneath her tower, which is inhabited by dark elves and other denizens. She has opened a magical portal on the balcony of her Eyrie, which I can use to transport to the underworld when I am ready. Underworld * I have encountered a tribal chief of the dark elf settlement. He has suggested that while the elves here wish me no real harm, they do not trust outsiders and will not grant me leave to explore their settlement. Before I could speak to him further though, he was taken by a fit of coughing due to an illness that threatens his life. His people are calling for his daughter, Pyrenne to come to his side, but no-one knows where she is. * I have found Pyrenne, and told her about her father. She was trying to retrieve a lichen from a nearby geothermal vent to cure him of his malady, but a foul creature living there prevents her from retrieving it. She has now gone to be with her father in his final hours. * I have returned the lichen to Pyrenne, who had used it to ease her father's illness. In return, the dark elves have recognised that I am not their enemy, and have granted me the freedom to explore their settlement. * I believe my journey into the underworld that Sarissa has sent me to is nearly at an end. I have encountered the spirit of Gorthestir, who claims to be the elven leader than sic brought his people to this underworld, centuries ago. By returning his sword to him, I have earned the spirit's trust. He tells me that the scrying glass I seek is at the bottom of the fiery pit that a nearby bridge spans over - but to descend down to it I will need a silver chain from the mausoleum to the south of his statue. he has warned me that the mausoleum is guarded by a deadly wraith... * I have found the scrying glass. Now to work my way back out of this underworld, and to the portal that will return me to Sarissa's tower. END OF GAME - No updates available since 2016.